Sven the grey pretender

Eriksson's reasons for planning ahead are clear and it makes sense to go to the man with the biggest cheque book before his own currency as a coach is devalued by a potentially disappointing campaign in Portugal.

Some may have questioned the team selection or tactics of previous England managers such as Kevin Keegan, Graham Taylor or Bobby Robson, but no one could ever doubt their commitment or their belief that to be asked to coach their country was the pinnacle of their careers. Can we say the same of Eriksson?

No shock to see Bruno on the floor

The news that Frank Bruno has reportedly checked into a Chelmsford clinic is sad but not surprising.

I went to interview Bruno in his Essex home a few years ago and worried then what he would do to fill his time. He was still married to Laura, working out daily in the gym and devoted to his three children, who were all living at home. Yet it was obvious that he had not even begun to come to terms with the loss of his sporting career.

He talked about working as a DJ, managing young boxers and watching his kids grow up, but there was an aimlessness about his musings.

Bruno is a showman, a natural entertainer who hankers after attention as much as he does the adrenalin rush of competition. Deprived of a stage on which to perform he has shrunk, both physically and emotionally.

I can only hope that the Priory can help him find satisfaction from a life without boxing and without Laura.

Tour of pain

A broken hip and a fractured cheek-bone are among the injuries to have caused premature retirements in the Tour de France but utterly incredible is the number of cyclists who are riding on through the pain.

Tyler Hamilton ( fractured collarbone), Fabio Baldato ( finger operation), Jimmy Casper (neck brace) and Danilo Di Luca (cystitis - not comfortable for a cyclist) have all continued to ride. Rene Haselbacher was the main casualty of a sprint finish on Tuesday, being thrown headlong into the barriers and suffering a bone-deep cut to his elbow, skinned fingers and lacerated shorts.

He still finished the stage.

Roger's a Romeo with Juliette

As a sign of appreciation for winning Wimbledon, the grateful Swiss nation presented Roger Federer with a gift. Not just any old trinket, though, but a gift that will keep on giving.

The Wimbledon champion looked a little surprised when Juliette was led on to the court in Gstaad, where he is currently playing in the Swiss Open.

She's a big girl, is Juliette, at around 130 stone.

She was bedecked with a garland of flowers, her long eyelashes blinking in the sun and she looked almost as confused as Roger himself as they were introduced to each other.

"I was afraid she might bite me, but I think she liked it when I stroked her," said the king of the Centre Court.

Juliette, in case you were wondering, is a dairy cow. A fine, big example of a dairy cow, in fact, who will happily provide the Federer family with milk for the rest of her life.

"I'm not often in the company of cows," Federer commented. Nor, given his new-found status as a sex symbol, will he have to be, but Juliette can be proud to know that she is the exception to the rule.

It does make you wonder what the British people would present to Tim Henman should the unthinkable ever happen at Wimbledon. A pig? Or perhaps the traditional symbol of national valour: a wrinkled, rather overweight, slightly smelly and completely disobedient bulldog.